Sipping Espresso

You can have your two front teeth - I'll take the Lamborghini! Oh yeah, that's the one I want! Periodically, my father-in-law will send me Italian Groupon deals that he thinks we may be interested in acquiring.  Through this site, we have found good deals on restaurants and hotels.  Just like  Groupon or Living Social at home - some of the deals are interesting, others are not.  Some are phenomenal values - others are just cleverly packaged marketing schemes.  Recently, he sent me one item that had the hairs on the back of my neck standing tall.  The opportunity to take a Ferrari and/or Lamborghini out on a race track and really "open'er up!" I wouldn't call myself a true "car enthusiast" - but I am definitely a guy who loves his vehicles.  I've had the pleasure of owning a few very fast cars and I have relished driving them.  My favorite toy ( Harley Davidson VRSC Nightrod Special ) is sitting under cover at my parent's house back...

You may have recently read that our Christmas spirit was put into gear when we attended a Milanese festival early in December.  We continued our drive toward Santa's big day by slipping into second gear and crossing the border into neighboring Switzerland.  Our Christmas spirit grew as we set out to enjoy one of the things we love most about Europe in December - the Christmas markets. Christmas trees like this are in cities all over Europe - this is in the main piazza of Lugano, Switzerland It just so happens that one of our favorite things about living in Italy is access to wonderful markets year round.  In the spring and summer, we can stroll the markets to buy fresh vegetables and aged cheese.  In the fall, we can purchase delicious homemade jams and carefully crafted grappa. However, the winter markets are undoubtedly our favorite.  The backdrop is perfect - streets framed with Christmas lights.  Good cheer around every turn.  Wonderful food...

"It's the most wonderful time of the year" ... and that means so many things!  It means snow flakes and Christmas lights.  It means cold weather and hot chocolate.  It means Santa Claus and stockings stuffed with goodies.  When you live in Europe, it also means tremendous Christmas markets and delicious  vin brulè (cooked wine, usually sold on the streets).  Over the past couple weeks, we have been taking advantage of it all!  Because Christmas is only four days away - I will spend the next four days posting about our Christmas fun.  In order to do that, I have to bend my "unbreakable rule" and publish blog posts out of order.  I'll fast-forward to Christmas and then flash back to some exciting posts that I have in the pipeline. Oh bej!  Oh bej! No, you don't have to say "gesundheit" !  I didn't sneeze.  That is the name of a festival held each year in Milan , spanning from December 7th through the following Sunday. ...

Jen has been pushing me to work harder on my writing; she's hopeful that one day I can earn a little discretionary income.  I have little faith that it will yield any positive results - but on the off chance a publisher is reading this and wants to take a chance on an untrained, unknown, first-time blogger... contact my agent.  My agent is Jen.  She takes 100% commission. Julia helps me write on the blog Since I promised her I would do my best, I recently came across a helpful set of rules to improve my writing skills.  I've seen this list floating across the internet a couple times and now seemed an appropriate time to re-post it.  I'm sorry that I don't know who to credit as the author - so thank you, you witty SOB, whoever you are. HOW TO WRITE GOOD 1. Avoid Alliteration.  Always. 2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with. 3. Avoid cliches like the plague.  They're old hat. 4. Comparisons are as bad as cliches. 5. Be more or less...

Since Thanskgiving is tomorrow - here is a suggestion of something you can do to dress up your leftovers. Risotto is a favorite of mine; winter, spring, summer or fall.  While cooking risotto, I like to use fresh, seasonal ingredients - and with fall comes all things pumpkin.  So, this was my chance to combine one of my favorite dishes with one of my favorite fall flavors.   Risotto con zucca (Risotto with pumpkin) However, when it came to the Thanksgiving dinner we just had, I knew it would be too much for a first course.  While risotto is relatively simple to prepare it is time consuming and requires my undivided attention for at least 20 minutes.  I decided instead to create a new family tradition.  My plan was to serve pumpkin risotto the day after Thanksgiving, along with all of the other delicious leftovers.  I think it’s a perfect way to add a new element to a meal we've already eaten a couple times over by lunch t...